One WebCast shows a Muslim woman being discriminated against and some customers leave the store refusing business. Others give thumbs up to the rude, offensive person behind the counter and agree that if they owned a business, they’d do the same thing. I think we’d all like to think we’d do the right thing and “stand on the side of the oppressed” but would we silently watch or actually step in?

Alone amidst a desert in Bahrain, there is a tree that defiantly stands with its roots deep in the sand. It is called the “tree of life.” Its source of water is unknown and none have been able to understand how such a symbol of life can survive in such a desolate area. It is a tree one expects to see in a climate that is conducive to such vegetation. Its branches are many, extending about as far as its height. Its leaves are full of color and it is a remarkable testament to fortitude in the face of adversity. As one person said, “The reason people think its beautiful is because it has no right to be there.”

SubhanAllah. A tree in the middle of the desert. No one expected this tree to live or survive, yet it has through Allah’s Will. This tree is just like you or me. The current political atmosphere may make us believe that we are outsiders; that we do not belong. Yet, we are here—surviving, striving, dreaming and achieving. We are here by the bounty of Allah (SWT). To some people, our community does not have a right to live in society. To some people, we should integrate into society and put our faith aside. But our uniqueness as a community comes from the fact that we are different and have the beauty of Islam. Our community is well grounded, rooted into the foundation of the deen. Our branches are the connections we have to one another, our leaves are our actions. The strength of a tree comes from its roots and branches, just like our strength comes from our deen and community. Though perhaps people do not think we belong, we should not allow ourselves to take on this mentality. Allah (SWT) has told us that the world shall not perish so long as one person is calling out to Him. It is because of the Muslims that still believe and call out to their Lord that the world still exists. SubhanAllah. How many times have we looked at the world in that manner? We like to take the negatives and escalate them, only further hindering our community from progressing. If only we look at Allah’s signs and realize that we, like the tree of life, are put in the situations and circumstances we face for a reason. The Tree of Life has no caretaker, no one to give it water. Its existence comes from Allah. It can only depend on Allah to nourish it. Just like that, our community in the West is here for a reason.

Under the heat we face, we can either wilt and falter- or we can persevere and prove to the West that we belong. We are among the richest Muslims in the world. We are in the unique position to help those that are less fortunate. If we fail to recognize this—if we fail to rely on Allah and realize His Divine Wisdom—we fail as a community. We have so much to offer, so much to share with the world. We wear our religion on our sleeves and that being so; we should portray it in the best of light. We should set the example and show that no matter what we can survive and be an asset to Western society as opposed to how some people would like to show the Muslim community. Just remember the tree and how despite all odds, it perseveres. It attracts hundreds of visitors because of its strength. We have the opportunity to be the type of people that others flock to because of the beauty of our actions, the strength of our faith, and our commitment to persevere. “Those who patiently persevere will truly receive a reward without measure!”- Qur’an 39:10

Have you ever thought about the fact that you did not exist before you were conceived and then born into the world and that you have come into existence from mere nothingness?

Have you ever thought about how the flowers you see in your living room everyday come out of pitch black, muddy soil with fragrant smells and are as colorful as they are?

Have you ever thought about how mosquitoes, which irritatingly fly around you, move their wings so fast that we are unable to see them?

Have you ever thought about how the peels of fruits such as bananas, watermelons, melons and oranges serve as wrappings of high quality, and how the fruits are packed in these wrappings so that they maintain their taste and fragrance?

Have you ever thought about the possibility that while you are asleep a sudden earthquake could raze your home, your office, and your city to the ground and that in a few seconds you could lose everything of the world you possess?

Have you ever thought of how your life passes away very quickly, and that you will grow old and become weak, and slowly lose your beauty, health and strength?

Have you ever thought about how one day you will find the angels of death appointed by God before you and that you will then leave this world?

Well, have you ever thought about why people are so attached to a world from which they will soon depart when what they basically need is to strive for the hereafter?

Man is a being whom God furnishes with the faculty of thought. Yet, most people do not use this very important faculty as they should. In fact, some people almost never think.

In truth, each person possesses a capacity for thought of which even he himself is unaware. Once man begins to use this capacity, facts he has not been able to realise until that very moment begin to be uncovered for him.

The deeper he goes in reflection, the more his capacity to think improves, and this is possible for everyone. One just has to realise that one needs to reflect and then to strive hard.

Someone who does not think will remain totally distant from truths and lead his life in self-deception and error. As a result, he will not grasp the purpose of the creation of the world, and the reason for his existence on the earth. Yet, God has created everything with a purpose. This fact is stated in the Qur’an as follows:

We did not create the heavens and the earth and everything between them as a game. We did not create them except with truth but most of them do not know it. (Surat ad-Dukhan: 38-39)Did you suppose that We created you for amusement and that you would not return to Us? (Surat al-Muminun: 115)Therefore, each person needs to ponder the purpose of creation, first as it concerns him himself, and then as it pertains to everything he sees in the universe and every event he experiences throughout his life. Someone who does not think, will understand the facts only after he dies, when he gives account before God, but then it will be too late. God says in the Qur’an that on the day of account, everybody will think and see the truth:

That day Hell is produced, that day man will remember; but how will the remembrance help him? He will say, “Oh! If only I had prepared in advance for this life of mine!” (Surat al-Fajr: 23-24)The truth can be told to a person in many different ways; it can be shown by the use of details, pieces of evidence and by every means. Yet, if this person does not think over this truth on his own, sincerely and honestly with the purpose of comprehending the truth, all these efforts are useless. For this reason, when the messengers of God communicated the message to their people, they told them the truth clearly and then summoned them to think.While God has given us a chance in the life of this world to reflect and derive conclusions from our reflections, to see the truth will bring us great gain in our life in the hereafter. For this reason, God has summoned all people, through His prophets and books, to reflect on their creation and on the creation of the universe:

Have they not reflected within themselves? God did not create the heavens and the earth and everything between them except with truth and for a fixed term. Yet many people reject the meeting with their Lord. (Surat ar-Rum: 8)A man who reflects grasps the secrets of God’s creation, the truth of the life of this world, the existence of hell and paradise, and the inner truth of matters. He gets a deeper understanding of the importance of being a person with whom God is pleased, and so he lives religion as is its due, recognizes God’s attributes in everything he sees, and begins to think not according to what the majority of people demand but as God commands. As a result, he takes pleasure from beauty much more than others do, and does not suffer distress from baseless misapprehensions and worldly greed.

These are only a few of the beautiful things a person who thinks will gain in the world. The gain in the hereafter of someone who always finds the truth by thinking, is the love, approval, mercy and the paradise of our Lord, which are above everything else.

"We have devoted our lives to seeking knowledge of the heart; knowledge that will carry us to our soul’s destination. Your minds have limits but not your hearts, for they are receptacles of endless capacity. But, you must open your hearts to this knowledge, as nothing may pass through what is closed.”

If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.- Isaac Asimov